Gator's size leads to denied permit for beloved indoor pet
Florida wildlife officials are reviewing a permit application for a pet alligator that wears clothes, rides on a motorcycle and visits elementary schools with its owner.
Mary Thorn says her alligator Rambo was only about a foot long when she first acquired a permit for him, ABC News reports. Now he’s more than 6 feet long and 125 pounds, and new permit requirements say she can’t keep a gator of that size unless she lives on a property with at least 2.5 acres of land.
Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gary Morse told ABC News that Thorn’s permit was denied earlier this year, but her application is being reviewed because of a number of new issues that have been raised. “This is a very complex case, especially since she acquired the gator before some changes in permit conditions,” Morse said.
Thorn says Rambo was raised in a tank in a dark closet before she acquired him, and that caused his sensitivity to sunlight, report the Orlando Sentinel and the New York Daily News. The clothes are for his protection. He lives with Thorn inside her home and gets anxious when she is gone for too long.
Thorn says Rambo doesn’t bite, and he is on his best behavior when he visits schools to teach children about reptiles. “When there’s kids around, he doesn’t want to hurt them even by accident, so he closes his mouth real tight so the kids can’t get their fingers inside,” Thorn told the New York Daily News. “He’s never hurt anyone.”
